Washington | Wednesday A PLAN for Sudan to arrest Osama bin Laden in 1996 fell through when the United States found it unable to put him on trial and failed to convince Saudi Arabia to take him, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The newspaper said the US administration of then-president Bill Clinton had secretly […]
MOTORRACING Alan Henry It was an oblique tribute to Murray Walker’s key role in the shaping of Formula One’s televised image over the past three decades that Jaguar driver Eddie Irvine felt obliged to blurt out a dose of light-hearted, if hardly diplomatic, criticism of Bernie Ecclestone’s grand prix show at Indianapolis last weekend. Invited […]
So the “small-minded, vacuum-brained anti-American commentators” have been identified by your reader John Valentine as taking up position in your paper (September 21). One of those “morons” happens to be Noam Chomsky, based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 1972 to 1992 he was cited 7449 times in the Social Science Citation Index. His […]
Within days of the attack on the United States, women were drooling over Bin Laden BODY LANGUAGE Rehana Rossouw Now that the shock and heartbreak of the attack on the United States has subsided, it seems appropriate to analyse another issue that has triggered heated debate in recent weeks: why some women find Osama bin […]
LIBYAN leader Muammar Gadaffi on Tuesday questioned the legitimacy of the United States leading an international campaign against terrorism, and also accused Britain of being the country sheltering the largest number of terrorists. In comments published on the official Libyan government website, Gadaffi warned against a two-speed policy towards states accused of harbouring terrorists. “It […]
The controversial clause on foreign investment went a little further than recommended Barry Streek The British government is “very concerned” about the decision by the African National Congress majority in Parliament’s safety and security committee to ban foreign investment in South Africa’s private security industry, saying it contravenes the 1998 agreement between the two countries […]
Barry Streek In a new privatisation move, the government has released draft legislation enabling private companies and equity partners to become involved in South Africa’s strategic petroleum pipelines. The draft Petroleum Pipelines Bill, published in the Government Gazette, provides for the appointment of a Petroleum Pipeline Regulator to regulate the operation of the petrol pipeline […]
Suzan Chala South Africa’s freedom fighters won a significant battle recently when an out-of-court settlement secured the pensions that had been due to them since 1996, but had never been paid. Despite its noble language and intentions, the Special Pensions Act of 1996 which paved the way for monthly payments to former members of Umkhonto […]
TEACHERS at the Lagos State University have launched strike action to press for higher pay and better conditions. The strike began on Tuesday and “is total and indefinite”, said the chairman of the ASUU teachers’ union, Gbola Aderibigbe. The union leader accused the Lagos State government of not paying outstanding salaries and allowances, and of […]
Neva Makgetla They say you should be careful about wishing for something, because you might get it. Business leaders should take this to heart. They insisted on restrictive, free-market policies and now they have got their wish. The result has been massive job losses, slow growth, falling investment and a plummeting rand. From the standpoint […]
channel vision Robert Kirby Strange how our television broadcasters, the moment they know they’ve got a popular programme, like to pig out on commercials. I’ve seen as much as eight minutes of an uninterrupted commercial break before a final rugby match; the inclusion during the match, at about two-minute intervals, of the dreadful squeezebacks so […]
food Melvyn Minnaar A local fowl expert has landed on the world’s gastronomic stage with his nomination for the Slow Food Award 2001 Special Jury Prize. Noel Honeyborne of Fowls for Africa is the first South African finalist; he was selected from 550 entries worldwide. At a taste-off at the Herbert Baker restaurant in Parktown, […]
THE Tamazight or Berber language is to be officially recognized in Algeria, with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika due to change the constitution which currently only recognizes Arabic. Officials said the decision was announced to representatives of village committees and tribes from the Kabylie region who met Prime Minister Ali Benflis. Kabylie in the northeast is the […]
Human rights must not be an afterthought Polly Toynbee Something horrible flits across the background in scenes from Afghanistan, scuttling out of sight. There it is, a brief blue or black flash a woman. The top-to-toe burqa, with its sinister, airless little grille, is more than an instrument of persecution; it is a public tarring […]
Fred Esbend Shortly after being voted South Africa’s top mayor in a survey by a business magazine, Port Elizabeth mayor Nceba Faku’s reputation has been tarnished by allegations that he misused council funds for his personal ends. The Democratic Alliance this week revealed a staggering R87 000 discretionary fund splurge in the mayor’s discretionary fund. […]
Community foundations are vehicles for identifying community needs and channelling resources analysis Max Legodi The Southern African Grantmakers’ Association (Saga) has been piloting the establishment of community foundations in South Africa. These philanthropic institutions support development in one specified geographical area. Community foundations act as permanent endowment builders, grantmakers and community resource mobilisers. Their purpose […]
AN outbreak of swine fever has hit Malawi’s northern district of Karonga, threatening at least 20 000 pigs in the district alone, a veterinary official said on Thursday. Patrick Chikungwa, the district’s veterinary officer said a quarter of the pigs in the region have been affected by the disease which has killed at least some […]
Thank you for publishing my letter in the above regard in your previous edition, but it is always a pity when editorial prerogative leads to the distortion of views publicly expressed. The primary purpose of my letter under your heading “US is the world’s greatest success story” (September 28) was not to sing the praises […]
Marianne Merten Seven members of People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad) staged a lunchtime escape from the Cape High Court on Thursday but four, including alleged hitman Ebrahim Jenneker, were rearrested within 90 minutes . The Mail & Guardian has reliably learned that this is the second time Jenneker tried to escape from custody. Last […]
The government has allocated R182-million to biotechnology research and development Congress Mahlangu After more than 20 years of debate and consultation, South Africa has come up with a draft policy on genetically modified (GM)food and products. Published a month ago, the draft-strategy document states that biotechnology will improve access to and affordability of health care, […]
THE leader of Swaziland’s main opposition, Mario Masuku, was arrested and taken to prison in Mbabane on Thursday after defying bail conditions imposed on him following a charge of sedition. Masuku, head of the Peoples United Democratic Movement (Pudemo), was charged with sedition a year ago in the tiny landlocked kingdom, ruled by absolute monarch […]
Analysis Ewen MacAskill U nited States President George W Bush, who referred initially to the war on terrorism as a “crusade”, would do well to learn from the actions of the Arab warrior, Saladin, rather than the Christian crusaders. In 1099, when the Christian crusaders took Jerusalem, they slaughtered every Muslim and Jew men, women […]
Mail & Guardian reporter A new organisation has been formed in response to criticism and concerns regarding credit bureaus, which blacklist creditors who have not settled their accounts with retailers. The Credit Bureau Forum (CBF), as the organisation is known, seeks to address problems that consumers encounter with credit bureaus and the concerns of credit […]
In the January 12-18 2001 edition of the Mail & Guardian, an article appeared under the heading “Modise linked to MiG dealer” concerning Dr Voloshin and Marvol Management SA (Pty) Limited. At the time of going to press, Dr Voloshin could not be contacted. As a result certain allegations were made that were factually incorrect […]
KHADIJA MAGARDIE, Johannesburg | Friday IN the wake of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States, speculation has mounted that the government is under pressure to show its commitment to ending global terrorism by pushing through draft legislation so dogged by controversy that it received mention in Amnesty International’s 2001 human rights report. […]
October is dubbed welfare month and this year’s theme is the plight of the elderly. Pule waga Mabe visited a senior citizens’ centre in Soweto Thandisiwe Radebe (65) is still trying to settle down and make friends at the Ephraim Zulu Senior Citizens’ Centre in Soweto. She was admitted to the retirement home about four […]
DANCE Guy Willoughby Cape Town’s annual contemporary dance festival, the FNB Vita Indaba, held over four chock-a-block days at the Artscape Theatre, offered riveting work, including major new ensemble pieces by Tossie van Tonder, Christopher Kindo and Vincent Mantsoe, among others Standards were uneven the selection process needs to be re-examined closely but in general […]
RUGBY Andy Capostagno With two weeks to go in the Super Eight section of the Currie Cup there are still seven teams who can make the semifinals. It stretches credulity a little to believe that the seventh-placed Bulls are still in with a chance, but this is the stage of the season when the mathematicians […]
Excluding HIV-positive pupils from school is unlawful and unconstitutional, Minister of Education Kader Asmal has said.
SUDANESE authorities ordered the suspension of two daily newspapers on Wednesday for publishing articles deemed offensive to other journalists, Suna news agency reported. The country’s National Press Council slapped the one-day suspension on Alwan and Al-Usbu for articles written by their chief editors, saying they violated a code of honour endorsed by the Sudanese journalists’ […]
Pretoria | Thursday TWO of five people arrested in the United Kingdom last week in connection with a robbery in Switzerland are South Africans and the others Austrians with permanent South African residence permits and travelling on temporary South African passports. The five, four men and a woman, were arrested on September 28 at the […]
Phalaborwa | Thursday THE relocation of a herd of elephants from South Africa to Mozambique will symbolise the regional peace that now reigns, Mozambican Tourism Minister Fernando Sumbana said Wednesday. On Thursday morning, South African environmental officials will release the first herd of a group of 1 000 elephants to be relocated to the Mozambican […]